Jungsik

Jungsik opened in Tribeca in September 2011 in the former Chanterelle space at 2 Harrison Street, as chef-proprietor Jungsik Yim’s New York follow-up to the Seoul restaurant he launched in 2009. The name is a double play: jeongsik means a formal Korean meal, and it is also the chef’s name. Yim studied at the Culinary Institute of America, cooked at Aquavit and Bouley in New York, and staged in Spain at Zuberoa and Akelarre before building what the house calls New Korean cooking: Korean flavors paced through a contemporary tasting format. Executive chef and director of operations Daeik Kim, another CIA alum, joined in 2018. Infatuation has framed the 2011 opening as New York’s first Korean tasting-menu room, more white-tablecloth than later counters such as Atomix.

Michelin awarded one star within about a year, two stars in 2013, and three stars at the December 2024 U.S. ceremony for the 2025 New York Guide, making Jungsik the first Korean restaurant in the United States to reach that tier. Yim won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2025. The main dining room runs a prepaid Signature Menu booked on Tock (recently published around $335 per person; confirm before you book), with the whole table taking the same progression; the bar offers related dishes à la carte with a deposit. Courses that keep coming up include a banchan tray of one-biters, octopus with gochujang aioli, mandoo, arctic char, yellowtail kimbap with truffle rice and crisp seaweed, galbi, and desserts such as dolhareubang and Jungsik Garden. Wine and nonalcoholic pairings are part of the night. The house asks for allergy notes in advance and cannot accommodate soy or garlic allergies; children must be over twelve.

Diners treat Jungsik as a polished three-star special occasion: choreographed service, yellowtail kimbap as the dish people name first, strong banchan openers and desserts, and a quieter downtown room than Koreatown barbecue. Regulars talk about booking the Tock window early and comparing it to Atomix as the more classical white-tablecloth alternative.

The same reviews warn about a prepaid check that climbs fast once pairings are added, a tasting that some find smoother than thrilling in the middle courses, occasional notes of noise or a rushed finish, and hard dietary limits (especially soy and garlic). Come when you want Tribeca New Korean pacing, not a Koreatown stew house or a casual grill table.